One Apple Watch Series 8 model might go (way) bigger than the Series 7

Another big change (figuratively but also literally) was casually (and vaguely) referenced by a well-connected analyst for the first time no less than nine months ago, and now Ross Young is back with an equally casual (but far more specific) mention of an… interesting screen size upgrade.

While it’s unclear if this freshly rumored measurement refers to the display diagonal or the case of the largest Apple Watch Series 8 model in the pipeline, you can absolutely bet the farm on a substantial increase of the usable screen real estate… and the overall body of the world’s best-selling wearable device.

Of course, no one is going to force you to buy this gigantic-sounding timepiece, and although this isn’t made clear in Ross Young’s latest tweet on the topic, Apple’s next big smartwatch could come out in a grand total of three main variants, including “standard” 41 and 45mm sizes.

Keep in mind that said sizes were (slightly) bumped up just last year from 40 and 44mm respectively, which actually made a world of difference for many users together with thinner screen bezels and more rounded corners. Needless to say that it’s pretty unusual to see the Cupertino-based tech giant make relatively drastic changes in the same department of the same device two years in a row, but here we are, fully expecting the Apple Watch to go bigger, bolder, and flatter than ever in its eight incarnation.

As you may already know, the Apple Watch Series 7 offers a great deal more screen real estate than Samsung’s circular Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, whose 42 and 46mm case sizes only translate to 1.2 and 1.4-inch display diagonals respectively due to their large bezels. That means a 2-inch or so Apple Watch Series 8 could absolutely crush the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro from that standpoint… unless, of course, the death of the rotating bezel will contribute to a huge improvement in usable display area.

At least for the time being, the highly anticipated and long overdue second-gen Apple Watch SE is tipped to retain the 40 and 44mm case options of its 2020 predecessor, which probably means the screen sizes and overall design will also go unchanged.

But with the same brand-new S8 chip under the hood as the high-end Apple Watch Series 8, always-on display functionality, state-of-the-art ECG technology, and all of the cutting-edge watchOS 9 workout tracking features, this thing could certainly make a serious splash during the upcoming holiday shopping season… as long as it’s not priced too high.

There’s also an entirely new rugged Apple Watch edition expected out by the end of 2022 with the same key body temperature selling point as the Series 8 and not a lot of other stuff credibly rumored to date, which suggests a late or limited release compared to its “normal”-looking siblings might be in the cards.